Lubricant-circulation system.



l. B. FERGUSON.

LUBRICANT CIRCULATION SYSTEM. APPLICATION FILEDl ocT. I9. I9I6.

PatentedSeI/It. 25, 1917.

JOsEPH is. FERGUSON, or NEW YORK, N. Y.

LUBRICANT-CIRCULATION SYSTEM.

Specification of Letters Patent. Pajnd Spi. 25, 1917- Application filedpctober 19, 191. Serial No. 126,527.

To all rwhom t mag/'concerm Be it known that I, JOSEPH B. FERGUSON, a subject of rthe King er Great Britain, and a resid/ent of New York city, rcounty and State 'of' New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Lubricant-Circulation Systems, ot which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a lubricant circulation system, and particularly to systems in which there may be included'a gear case, crank chamber, aXle housing, or the like, in which the lubricant is in motion.

Such casings usually contain Oil, and Iin this oil sediment, wear particles,- metallic chips from the gear teeth, bearings, etc., trequently collect, and theirv presence is detrimental tothe usefulness of the oil, Even though such casings may be made suiiciently deep toV allow for the collection of this'sedimentin the bottom, the only method of remo'vingit isl to draw oit all of the Oil. In order to avoid this waste, it is my purpose to provide means for collecting such undesirable particles in a small chamber through which the oil Hows, so that, by emptying the small chamber, they' may be disc'hargedwithout loss of the entire body of oil.

An Object or this invention is to provide means tor separating from lubricant `sediment, chips or other wear particles coming from the parts over which the lubricant flows. .4 n

In the attainment ot'v this object, it is my further object to provide a sedimentA trap for collecting undesirable particles from flowing oil. A

It is a further object to provide means tor drawing ott' dirty oil without employing any trap beneath the bottom of the case and without necessitating the provision of more than a working clearance between the moving parts andthe bottom of the case.

Accordingk to this invention, aj chamber is formed, into and out ot which Oil Hows, and it is provided that,while the oil is within it, undesirable particles may settle to the bottom thereof and be withdrawn as desired.v In order that theJ oil may becaused to iow across this chamber, the chamber may be positioned where oil will Howto it which has been thrown up by moving parts. Hence, a draining of such chamber while the parts are inoperative will entail the loss only of whatever Oil remains in the chamber.

Other and further objects and advantages of this invention willvappear from'. the ac- Fig. A2'is apartial cross-section or' the device shown in Fig. l;

Fig. 3 is a detail view;

Fig'. L is a diagrammatic cross-section of an engine having a. crank casing embodyingmy invention. y y

lhile this description refers to particular embodiments of my device, the .details shown and described are referred to merely for the purpose. of interpreting 4my invention, and it is to be understood that it is of broad application and is only deiined by the hereunto appended claims.

In Fig. l, the housing l contains the axle 2, upon which isthe housing tor dii-terential gearing, and upon this is mounted the axle driving gear 4. rIhe axle housing is formed vsothat there is just suii'icient clearance for the gear, and the mairimun'i road clearance is therebyT provided tor. It is in'- tended that the gear 4 will rotate in the di-` rection of the arrow, and thel lubricant contained -in the casing will, therefore be thrown up uponv the wall or the housing. An opening 5 is provided in this wall, which leads into ay chamber or trap 6. @ver-hanging portion 7 prevents thev oil from flowing upward by reason of its inertia or by .reason ot'any drag ot the wheel, and the oil, theretore, flows downward into the chamberor trap 6. This trap lls up` and overflows, but all of the oilA flowing down the rwall ltlows into it and out of it. However,.while the oil is in it, Lthe sediment and wear particles will lfall to the bottom thereof, and, by reason ot their speci-tic gravity being higher than that of the oil, they will be trapped therein. In this case the wall ot the housing provides a part of the circulation system, and the chamber 6 forms a trap therein, into whichl undesirable particles settle. In order to drain the sediment from this trap, a twoway cock 8 is provided. IVhen this cock is in the position shown in Fig. 2, the chamber 6 will be drained; It it isturned clockwise to register with the opening 10, the level of lubricant in the housing can be tested, for the passage 10 communicates with the lower part 1 of the housing. Plugs 11 may be used to close these passages, and thetwoway cock may be left in any position; or the .portion forming the cock Smay be made integral and two passagesmayv be provided, which are closed by plugs'll. The cock or valve plug 8 may be provided with asoluarek key socket 12, into which a key 13 is adapted `to fit.` A covering 14 is provided for the valve or cock S, and an openin'gvl therein,

of the same shape as the opening 12, registers with the opening 12, so that the key 13 may only be inserted or removed when the cock is in closed position.

My invention may be embodied in 'an engine having a vcrank casing 20 vand crank shaft 21, in which are cranks`22, which rotate in the direction of the arrow and` 4 throw oil toward 'the wall 25. yProjection 7, similar to the projection 7, prevents oil from flowing upward on this side,` and the chamber 6, similar to the chamber 6, is positioned so that oil flowing downward on the f wall 25 flows across it and sediment is caught in this chamber and discharged therefrom upon opening of the valve 26.

My invention is also embodied' in the means provided for kfiltering oil into the casing 20. An oil pipe 28 leads from any point where oil accumulates to the casing, and particles are removed from the 'oil'by the filter 29. These particles settle in the chamber 30 and are discharged therefrom by the opening of the valve 31. The valves26 and 31 areopened by meansl of the link 32, the

i bell crank 33, the link 34e, and the crank 35,

whenever the cover 36 is raised for the purpose of pouring fresh oil into the crank cas ing. The part 7 K also prevents fresh oil from flowing into the sediment chamber 6.

`Whilel have described specific features of structures embodying my invention, I'do not inten'd'that i'tshall be limited t'othese particular features, but'intendy that it` shall be defined by the hereunto appended claims.v What I claim and desire to secure by Let-v ters Patent ofthe United States isthe following 1. A 'mechanism container,-, mechanism therein comprising parts engaging in theirv` 'normal operation to form sediment and chips, said mechanism being `arranged to f throw the lubricant which lubricates said engaging parts against the side wall of said Copies of-this patent may be obtained for five cents each,` by addressing the Commissioner of 'Washington,' 1).0.

container, and a drainable Vsediment trap formed in said side and arranged to receive said lubricant thrown by said mechanism, and flowing down said side of said container .and collectthesediment and chips settling therein, said trap having an opening, the

4lower side of which is substantially at or above lthe normalglevel of the lubricant of said container, the purified oil overflowing into said container asfadditionalvoil is received by said trap.

2. A mechanism container adapted to contain lubricant, mechanism in saidconbeing 'only a working clearance between said gear and housing and a drainable sediment trap formed in the side yof said housing toward which the lower side of said gear rotates and substantially in the plane thereof, said trap having an opening arranged to catch lubricant thrown lup by said gear against said side of said housing, the lower edgeof said opening being substantially at yor above the normal level of the lubricant in said hoi'ising, said trap beingarranged' to overflow into said housing, whereby a maximum of road clearance of said housing is obtained and. sediment is removed from the'y lubricant.

4. A mechanism container, mechanism ytherein comprising parts engaging in their normal operation lto form sediment and chips', said container having a side wall, a sediment trap carried bysaid side wall, said mechanism'being arranged to throw lubri-V cant which lubricates said engaging parts toward said trap, said trapl being drainable and being arranged to receive said lubricant vand to collect the sedimenti-and chips set-k tlin'g therein, said trap 'having an opening,

the lower side'fof which is substantially at y or above the normal level of the lubricant in said container andfarranged so Vthat they purified oil overflowsinto said container as additional oil is received by saidtrap.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification. Y

yJQSERPI B. FERGUSON.

Patents, 

